News Corp. revenue slides 4% amid decline in ad sales

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp

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News Corp.'s fiscal second-quarter revenue fell 4% amid of advertising revenue declines. The company is controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, shown at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco.

News Corp. -- which includes the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Times of London and HarperCollins book publishing -- released its fiscal second-quarter earnings late Thursday. It was the second earnings report at the company since it became a stand-alone entity at the end of June.

"Direct comparables are awkward because the company, in its present form, did not exist a year ago," News Corp. Chief Executive Robert Thomson told analysts on an after-market conference call.

News Corp. stock rose in after-hours trading. It closed up 41 cents to $16.02 a share.

The company's main driver, its News and Information Services unit, generated $1.6 billion during the fiscal second quarter, a 9% decline from a year earlier. Revenue fell 17% at the Australian newspaper group, which is grappling with the weak economy in Australia.

Circulation and subscription revenue fell 7%, primarily because of problems at its Dow Jones institutional unit. The declines were partially offset by subscription price hikes for the Wall Street Journal and WSJ.com and a higher cover price for the Sun in Britain.

The company's fledging educational materials business, Amplify, suffered declines but company executives told analysts to stay tuned. Amplify is seeking wider adoption of its curriculum product and several states, including California, are expected to begin a curriculum review.